One day after Kevin Costner debuted his self-financed film with tears in his eyes Horizon: an American saga at the Cannes Film Festival, to a seven-minute standing ovation, Paramount Network made its own announcement.
The streamer revealed that its vehicle starring Costner, Yellowstone (also known as the “most popular series on TV”), had resumed production after a long hiatus. That much-publicized hiatus, which began in January 2023 after the end of Part 1 of Season 5, came amid two Hollywood strikes, reported script delays and, perhaps most notably, an alleged rift with Costner over his film. Horizon.
The fact that the announcement came just before Costner’s big night, a world away from Montana’s Dutton Ranch, seemed to emphasize the distance that would have arisen between Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and his leading man – who left the drama last year, but may or may not have been on board for the show’s final episodes.
What is going on Yellowstone?
According to the Hollywood Reporter, production on the second half of the Western drama’s fifth and final season began on May 20. These episodes are expected to air in November.
Created by Sheridan, the Paramount series tells the multigenerational story of the Duttons, a family of ranchers who battle politicians, land developers and a neighboring Native American tribe to keep the vast ranch acreage within the family. .
In recent years Yellowstone‘s production has come under scrutiny as Sheridan has simultaneously made progress on the show’s prequels, 1883 And 1923as well as announced spin-off series 6666. Sheridan also serves as creator, writer, producer and more for multiple series including Tulsa King And Mayor of Kingstownhe is singled out when it comes to script and production delays.
However, it was Sheridan’s claims about Costner and his commitments to the four-part drama Horizonwhich have arguably received the most attention – especially as Coster’s participation in the show he has headlined since its inception has been called into question.
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had a passion project he wanted to direct,” Sheridan told the Hollywood Reporter. “He and the network had an argument about when he would be ready Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can definitely work out a schedule [his preferred exit date]’, which we did.
Costner, however, saw it differently.
What Costner says
After refusing to comment on multiple reports about his possible Yellowstone After the exit, Costner recently decided to speak openly about it.
“I haven’t had a good feeling about it over the last year, the way they’ve talked about it,” Costner told Deadline, adding that he “took a beating” from Sheridan and the show’s producers in the press. ‘It wasn’t truthful. So now I’m talking a little bit about what the real truth of it was.
According to Costner, the truth centered on the moment he was able to shoot Yellowstone and how to make that work with his Horizon schedule, which he admits was a factor.
“I signed a contract for seasons 5, 6 and 7. In February, after two or three months of negotiations, they signed a new contract. They wanted to remake that one, and instead of seasons 6 and 7 it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six. They couldn’t make that,” he told the outlet. “Horizon was in the middle, but Yellowstone was the first position. If it [Horizon] closely monitor. They just kept shifting their holes.”
What is going on Horizon?
Costner’s film Horizon: an American saga It’s actually four films that the Oscar-winning actor and director self-financed for $38 million. Like another famous director who premiered his self-financed work at Cannes, Costner used his personal assets to finance the project.
“I know they say I have $20 million of my own money in this movie,” Costner told GQ, referencing previous reports. “It’s not true. I have about $38 million in the movie now.”
To get that much money, Costner told the outlet he mortgaged a 25-acre beachfront estate in Santa Barbara, California.
Horizon is familiar territory for Costner in more ways than one. The story itself, which chronicles America’s violent westward expansion around the time of the Civil War, explores not only the American West but how it played out among the Native American tribes whose homelands were threatened.
Costner has covered similar storylines Yellowstone but also in his directorial debut, Dancing with wolveswhich won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director in 1991.
Horizon will premiere the first two parts this summer, with the first opening in theaters on June 28 and the second on August 16. Part 3 is in production and 4 are on the way, neither of which has a release date yet.
Did Costner’s divorce affect the financing of… Horizon?
While Costner said he and ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, with whom he shares three of his seven children, agreed to mortgage the property to finance the financing. Horizonthe issue has raised questions about whether or not the financial decision played a role in his 2023 divorce.
“No, they are not related,” Costner told GQ.
Compare his search for his American saga with Moby Dickhe added: “The white whale was obsessed [Capt. Ahab] so much so that he would take anyone with him. I’m not taking anyone down with me. I take the risk myself.”
So will Costner appear in the final episodes of Yellowstone?
Although Costner has since left the show, the actor told Deadline that he would be open to the idea of returning.
“Am I open to coming back?” he asked the outlet. ‘I was never in a position to tell them what to do. I can only do what I can do.”
